Delivery woes undermined some faith in Tesla overnight, sending the stock into the ignominy of being the Nasdaq's second-worst performer. Photo / AP, David Zalubowski
Keeping you up to date with the latest market moves, in association with Investment firm Jarden
International
US
Markets fell in the wake of new statements from the Federal Reserve this morning that provided a more hawkish tone, including a suggestion that officials are likely to raise rates "well above" 4 per cent and continue to hold them at restrictive levels against inflation.
A sign of the economy holding up well during these rate hikes was the announcement of a fall in jobless claims. On the other hand, home sales extended their decline to the lowest levels seen since the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Telco AT&T and tech giant IBM led the market after publishing a stellar set of quarterly results, up 7.7 and 4.3 per cent respectively at the time of writing.
These results lifted the S&P's tech index up 0.6 per cent. However, insurance company Allstate fell 12.5 per cent.
Tesla dropped 6.5 per cent and currently sits as the second worst performer after Allstate, as earnings of $0.95 per share failed to excite investors on the EV manufacturer's near term prospects. Commentary from management suggested Tesla will miss its 2022 deliveries target.
Rest of the World
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned overnight amidst the reversal of policies from her mini budget and the ousting of key cabinet members.
Truss' 44 days in leadership, including the 10-day government pause following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, marks the shortest term for a British prime minister in modern history.
European equities again reacted to this fresh round of political seesawing, with the FTSE100 and STOXX600 each only posting modest 0.3 per cent gains.
The Pound rose slightly on news of the resignation, while the UK 10 Year Gilt bond also rose by 10 basis points.
A bright spot was French manufacturing and business confidence data, with both measures coming in slightly higher than surveyed estimates.
Asian equities disappointed overnight, particularly the Hang-Seng, which was down 1.4 per cent .
The Nikkei also fell, pulled down by a weaker currency as the Japanese Yen hit 150 Yen per USD, its lowest level since August 1990.
Commodities
Safe haven assets were benefactors of a weaker US dollar, with gold up 0.2 per cent and silver up 1.8 per cent. Oil rallied, with Brent Crude having risen 0.4 per cent at the time of writing.
Lastly, the US 10 Year Treasury bond gained another nine basis points rising to 4.216 per cent.
New Zealand
New Zealand equities lost 0.8 per cent on Thursday to finish at 10,832 points.
Auckland Airport shares (up 2.2 per cent) took flight after management announced an update to its profit guidance, lifting its full year 2023 estimate from $50-$100m to $100-130m.
The company cited strong demand for both domestic and international travel, consistent with the global trend following the relaxation of border controls.
This upgrade is the most recent in a string of earnings guidance upgrades within the Australasian travel industry.
That includes Air New Zealand in September and Qantas which, last week, announced it had benefitted from a return toward pre-Covid passenger numbers. Similar results have been seen for some US airlines.
Other stock specific news included Heartland Bank ( up 1.8 per cent), which will be purchasing Australian based Challenger Bank as part of its growth strategy after raising NZ$130 million of equity in August.
The acquisition of Challenger Bank for A$36 million is expected to pave the way for Heartland Bank to obtain an ADI (authorised deposit taking institution) license with which it could grow its range of savings and lending products in Australia .
NZX listed developer Winton Property has issued proceedings in the Auckland High Court alleging that Government housing agency, Kainga Ora, engaged in anti-competitive behaviour after its refused to fast-track the approval process of Winton's 4,400 home Papakura development.
Winton is currently listed with a market capitalisation of $700m and traded lower by 1.7 per cent today at $2.32 per share.
Australia
Australian equities, similar to their New Zealand counterparts, tracked losses on Wall Street to finish the day down 1.0 per cent.
Pressures from a tight labour market are set to continue after Australian unemployment data showed unemployment remaining at 3.5 per cent in September. The number of employed people also increased by a net 900, slightly below expectations.
As has been the case this week, the energy and materials sectors made up a significant proportion of news flow.
Firstly, petroleum company Woodside Energy surged 6.2 per cent after recording all-time high quarterly sales in tandem with a lift in full year production guidance.
EV battery material producer Novonix followed suit (up 7.0 per cent). likely a continuation of momentum after the New South Wales Government announcement about planned construction of the world's largest battery plant, the Waratah Super Battery, in conjunction with private equity giant BlackRock.
In contrast, Sandfire Resources and Evolution mining fell 13.2 and 8.0 per cent respectively after weaker than expected quarterly production statistics, cautioning investors that production would slow for the remaining financial year.
State-owned energy is returning to Victoria after Premier Daniel Andrews announced he will revive a state-owned enterprise to invest in renewable energy products.
This is expected to accelerate renewable energy production. An initial A$1 billion has been set aside for the newly established State Electricity Commission in the hope of delivering 4.5 gigawatts of renewable power.
Further measures included the intention to legislate the closure of all coal fired power stations in the state by 2035.
Coming up today
To round off the domestic news flow this week, NZ Credit Card spending and Trade Balance data is due, along with Mainfreight hosting an investor day.
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All market pricing and announcements are sourced from Refinitiv, NZX and ASX.
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Serko shares tumbled nearly 8% after the firm disclosed an impairment.